KOCHI: A major gold smuggling attempt was foiled by the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of customs at Nedumbassery airport as a man was allegedly caught with 2.18 kg of gold worth around Rs 1.2 crore on Thursday night. The arrested has been identified as Rafeeq of Palakkad who arrived on a flight from Sharjah.
Customs officials said the passenger was intercepted near the exit gate of the airport following a suspicion that he was attempting to smuggle contraband.
“Upon scanning his checked-in baggage, an image of a speaker was seen at the scanner, which added to our suspicion. On a detailed examination of the baggage, one cylindrical and yellow-coloured metallic piece was found concealed inside the magnet of the speaker. Following a detailed check, the metallic piece was confirmed as gold. It weighed 1,599 g,” a customs officer said.
Further examination of the passenger led to the recovery of four capsule-shaped packets containing gold in compound form weighing 590.68 g concealed inside his body.